Abhinav Bindra blames IOA, wants it to be corruption free (in pics)

New Delhi, Sept 4: Indian athletes have put the onus on the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) now and are trying their best to remove corrupt officials from the association in order to overturn the Olympic ban imposed on the country by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Some of the players involved are shooter Abhinav Bindra, wrestler Sushil Kumar and tennis player Mahesh Bhupati.

The IOA was suspended last year by the IOC for electing Lalit Bhanot as its secretary during its controversial December poll, who had served 11 months in jail on corruption charges.

The IOC had then offered an option to IOA asking it to amend its constitution and other rules so that no person charged with corruption can hold office. But the IOA refused to this and said instead proposed an ethics committee that would look into corruption charges against any official who has spent less than two years in jail.

Abhinav Bindra, who won a gold at the Beijing Olympic games in 2008 lamented about the current situation and said that the administrators had failed the country.

Bindra: A lot has to be done for Indian sports

"To a certain extent, yes the IOA has failed the country," he said. He went on to add that a lot has to be done for the Indian sports and we are nowehere close to it.

"We are still fighting about clauses that are non-negotiable in nature, something which is all about ethics," he said.

Bindra, Sushil Kumar and Mahesh Bhupathi along with other athletes are co-sponsoring a petition to ensure that the sporting authority remains free of corruption. The petition was started by Ajay Rao. They are now supported by the Indian governement, demanding that no tainted officials should contest office elections.

The petition is to be sent to Jacques Rogge, IOC President, asking him not to change the IOC's stance on the issue.